Promise Made, Promise Kept
by Obi the Kid
Summary: Post-A New Hope. (TPM characters) Non-Slash. Obi joins the force and a familiar face is there to greet him.


TITLE: Promise Made, Promise Kept  
AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)  
RATING: PG  
SUMMARY: Post-A New Hope. (TPM characters) Non-Slash. Obi joins the force, Qui is there to greet him. Final installment in the BENT series. (Bent, If You're Gone, Will You Remember Me, Black Cloud) This series can be found on my website, see below for address.  
ARCHIVE: Please ask me.  
FEEDBACK: Always in need of that.  
MY TPM FIC WEBSITE: http://www.angelfire.com/movies/obithekid/  
DISCLAIMER: The characters and venue of Star Wars are copyrighted to Lucas Films Limited. The characters not recognizable from this venue are copyrighted to Tracy C. Knight. The story is the intellectual property of Tracy C. Knight and is copyrighted to her. She makes no profit from the writing or distribution of this story.  
  
NOTES: Thanks to Robin for the idea and the title! This fic assumes knowledge of my fic, Black Cloud.  
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Promise Made, Promise Kept  
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As the old Jedi felt himself passing into the force, he remembered a promise made to him long ago. Two words that his former Master hod told him. Reach out. And if he did, the stoic Jedi would be there, in the Force, to greet his padawan. Ben Kenobi did just that, he reached out for his mentor and within minutes, he felt a familiar presence envelop his mind. One that had been missing for so many years.  
  
Qui-Gon Jinn stepped forward. To his eyes, Obi-Wan Kenobi was indeed, his padawan. The graying beard of Ben Kenobi was gone, the fatigued body, was twenty-five again. There was the short-cropped hair, and the padawan braid, the symbol of a Jedi Apprentice. Qui-Gon was seeing Obi-Wan as he remembered him. Perhaps this was the will of the Force.  
  
The young boyish face looked up into the friendly eyes that he had so dearly missed. "Master?"  
  
He was greeted by a warm smile. "Yes, padawan. I am here, as I promised I would be. I told you that if you reached for me, I would be here to welcome you, in some form or another."  
  
The younger Jedi was unsure, but as usual, felt a comfort with Jedi that was uniquely Qui-Gon. "It's good to see you again Master."  
  
"I missed you my Obi-Wan. Very much."  
  
Obi-Wan could only nod. The reality of his death, and the uncertainty of what was happening was all hitting him at once.  
  
"It's all right padawan. This takes a bit to get used to. It's normal to be scared."  
  
"Not really scared, just...just...nervous, I guess."  
  
"That is why I am here to walk by your side, to help you on your journey one last time. It has always been my honor to lead you and watch you learn and grow. I have watched you during your life. You have not failed me nor have you failed your training. Anakin would have turned regardless of who his Master was."  
  
Obi-Wan nodded again. "I should have known...I was not focused. I...was lonely for a long time Qui-Gon. He was my friend, and he turned against me. I've never felt betrayal like that."  
  
Taking the long braid between his fingers, Qui-Gon watched his fellow Jedi intently. "I could feel your loneliness as well as your anger and shock at Anakins betrayal. I felt it with you. I could not interfere, but you were never alone."  
  
"I've felt for so long like I have been alone. The Jedi were destroyed, everyone I knew, everyone I loved and cared for...gone." His eyes glistened with unshed tears. Tears that he's been holding in since after Anakin's turn to the dark side.   
  
The tall Master placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You remember what I always told you about your emotions? Not to be afraid of them. You were so good at hiding everything, but it all comes to the surface at some point. You remember what I said to you?"  
  
Thinking back for a few moments, Obi-Wan found those memories that Qui-Gon was triggering. "Yes, Master. You would tell me that it's okay to cry, there is no shame in showing emotions. They are something that must be dealt with, not feared. And that if I ever needed a shoulder to cry on, you would be there."  
  
"Yes Padawan. And that still holds true today. Your pain is tearing you up inside. Release is the first step to dealing with that pain."  
  
The young Jedi was confused. "No Master, you said you would always be there, where were you all those years that I needed you. I needed that shoulder, and you were not to be found. I NEEDED YOU, AND YOU WEREN'T THERE!!" Once the words came out, Obi-Wan immediately regretted them and was unable to stop the tears that poured from his blue/green eyes. "Where were you Master, I needed you...and..."  
  
This sudden burst of anger caught Qui-Gon off guard, nevertheless, he had assumed that the Knight held some resentment towards him for leaving him alone to train a boy they knew so little about. He knew that any words spoken here would seem empty. So he did the only thing he could. Wrapping his strong arms around his padawan, Qui-Gon pulled him close. The young man cried helplessly into the waiting shoulder. All the pain and anguish of the past years being released at once. This is what the older Jedi has been expecting, and had been prepared for. He held his friend, as the pain was relived. "It's all right padawan. I was with you, but could not interfere. I was there, and I am here now. For as long as you need me."  
  
Silence reigned for what seemed like hours, yet in reality, only minutes had passed. Obi-Wan was unwilling to move from his Master embrace. Nothing could hurt him there. Nothing.   
  
"It's okay to cry Obi-Wan. Everything will be okay."  
  
Eventually, Obi-Wan loosened his hold on Qui-Gon and let go of his mentor. "Feel better?"  
  
"I guess so. This is so hard. All the pain has returned. Memories that I had buried long ago, I am seeing." Obi-Wan looked away, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular.  
  
"You need to refocus your mind. There is hope yet. Young Luke is strong in the Force, I foresee that he will be a powerful Jedi. All is not lost. But you my Obi-Wan, must take care of yourself right now. For to long you have been watching others suffer when all along, you were suffering the most. It is your time to heal." Qui-Gon put an arm around the slight shoulders.  
  
"I...I don't know if I can heal." He hung his head.  
  
"You will heal in time padawan. I am here with you once more. You are at your place at my side. No one and nothing can change that now. There is no death, there is the Force. It is and always has been our greatest ally. It has brought us together for a second time." By now, Qui-Gon was practically holding the younger man upright. Obi-Wan's body was so tired, that even here, within the force, he could barely stand.  
  
"You need to rest padawan. Come, we will find someplace where you can rest in silence." Together, the two Jedi wandered through the Force, until they stopped at a familiar place.   
  
"Our quarters Master?"   
  
"Welcome home Obi-Wan. Your bedroom is as you left it before we departed for Naboo. You may rest for as long as your body craves it." They entered the apartment, the home that they had shared for more than a decade. Everything was just as they had left it on that fateful day. Even the smells were the same. Obi-Wan couldn't help now, but to smile.  
  
"I've missed this place so much. The years we spent as Master and Padawan. How many memories are here? Thank you Master. Perhaps this is what I need. Can we sit and talk like we used to? Share stories over tea? You can offer me advice as you did so many times before? Not that I always listened, but your words stayed with me. Can we laugh again? I haven't laughed in so long...Master? I miss my life as it was with you. Life as an apprentice wasn't easy, but you were the strongest presence in my life. I could always turn to you, even after we would argue. I knew that you would not fail me. Did I ever tell you how important you were to me Master?" Obi-Wan's sincere eyes sought out the Master's soul.  
  
Qui-Gon stood for a moment before responding. "I know that I was important to you, as you were to me."  
  
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No...you were everything to me. My friend and teacher, mentor and confidant. Most of all you were the one person who I could look to for everything. I still can. You are more a father to me than anything. I looked up to you so very much, I still do. If I could have been half the Jedi...half the man, you are, then I am a success. All that I am, I owe to you." A boyish smile crossed the young face.  
  
"My Obi-Wan you surpassed me long ago. You were always more cautious, stronger in the Force. I owe you a lot as well. You taught me to trust again. That it was okay to hold loved ones close to your heart, without the fear of betrayal. You, my son, are responsible for allowing me to live again. You will always be the most important to me." Seeing his friends watery eyes, Qui-Gon, once again took hold of his padawan, and allowed him to cry. This time, Qui-Gon cried with him.  
  
Speaking muffled words into the older man's tunic, Obi-Wan realized that all was as intended. "You kept your promise that you would be here when I passed into the Force. You are here now. Everything is as it should be. Thank you Master."  
  
"Indeed padawan, the Force works in mysterious ways." As Obi-Wan began to pull away, his Master held tight, not wanting to let go just yet. "You are home Obi-Wan. At my side, where you were always meant to be."  
  
When Qui-Gon finally released his embrace, he saw in Obi-Wan's eyes, that an inner peace had come over him. "I feel your mind calming. Do not bottle your feelings."  
  
Just then, Obi-Wan noticed that the sun was setting over the Courscant sky. He's always loved watching the sunsets when he was younger. Now, with his Master at his side, he wanted to experience the beauty again. "Master, we should watch the sunset from the balcony. Just like Bant and I used to do."  
  
Obi-Wan grabbed Jinn's arm and lead him out the door. "No need to rush Obi-Wan, there will be many more sunsets to come."  
  
"But...this time is special. Things are right again. I'm going to be okay. It was the will of the Force that we are together in death as we were in life. My Mas...my father is here with me. Right now, that's all that matters. I reached for you, and you were there as you promised you would be. Promise made, promise kept." Obi-Wan smiled as he sat next to Qui-Gon. There they sat, in companionable silence while the sun faded behind the shadowed skyscrapers in the distance.  
  
"I think...that I'm not scared anymore Master. This feel right. But where are the others? Bant?"  
  
"Oh, she's around. She wanted to surprise you. You know, I like to see that."  
  
"Like to see what?"  
  
"To see you smiling. You haven't done that much in the years since I left you. I missed you so much padawan."  
  
Obi-Wan smiled again. "You said that before. You were lonely too?"  
  
"I guess I was. You sure used to keep me busy, and keep my mind occupied, that's for sure." Putting an arm around his former student, the Jedi Master seemed more content than he had ever been.  
  
"It's good to be home Master. This is where I belong."  
  
"Welcome home my Obi-Wan."  
  
END  
  
  



End file.
